How we are terracing a hill

[diggernotdreamer]

I have been meaning to post this for some time. Back in 2015, a friend brought a digger here for us to mind and said we could use it. I had visions of digging ditches, doing general drainage work etc etc. The Wizard had his own ideas of what to do with it and so began the big dig, which to date due to bad weather last year, is not yet finished. The garden at the back of our house starts at the road and slopes down towards the house, using my ride on mower was like a fairground ride and it became apparent that the top had started to move downwards. A previous owner had bulldozed all the stone byres, stables, pig houses and put them on the ground and then covered it over with more stone from the local quarry to make a road road the house. We had no idea about this when we bought the house, but my plans of a beautiful cottage garden were scuppered as I couldn't ever get a spade in the ground.

Anyway, he suddenly decided that taking out the slope was the way forward, at the moment the slope has been put somewhere else (see pictures) and he is going to eventually lose it where there is quite a big low spot behind the paca pod. We did dig up a lot of building stones in the process and we stacked them to one side, we had no idea how many there were going to be, but it solved a problem of what to retain some of the soil near the road with and he started building a stone wall. Anyway,, here are some pictures, one day, hopefully, it will be a rather lovely formal garden with a pond and exotic looking plants Ok, I don't seem able to get them in order, never mind, they are a bit random but you get the idea.

the big dig (1).JPG (636.06 KiB) Viewed 23536 times

Big Dig 2 (11).JPG (692.3 KiB) Viewed 23536 times

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16 May (8).JPG (676.93 KiB) Viewed 23536 times

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10th June (18).JPG (725.3 KiB) Viewed 23536 times

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[Green Aura]

That wall looks fabulous.

I'm having some difficulty getting my head round someone demolishing a load of useful buildings then burying all that beautiful stone!

[johnb1]

There was obviously a lot of value in the stone. Somebody else would have demolished the buildings taken away the stone and paid him. Either way I will be start terracing my back garden this year. All by hand as no way a digger would remain upright on it. Nor is there any obvious way in other than through other peoples garden. Going for concrete fence posts the ones that you slide wooden fences into. They normally have concrete gravel boards at the bottom. I will probably use 3 or more boards on each terrace. I am pretty sure they will last a few lifetimes!

[diggernotdreamer]

Unfortunately, there is no value either then or now in the stone, old stone cottages are demolished and the stone used to make roadways, there is so much here, that it is just the norm, we were delighted with the stone, but after a while it does start to get on your nerves when you dig it up everywhere.

[Flo]

It does look as if you are really going to have to work on that soil to get it to be useful mind - looks like it needs a bit of care and attention other than taking out the stone ....

[diggernotdreamer]

the area has had all the top soil removed, the half decent soil has been put to one side, the area is back to the clay and we are planning on paving this area so as there is no mowing to do, a series of beds will be created from stone and then filled with top soil and the amazing broken down woodchip from the chicken run, a very large pond is going to be dug which will fill a large area. I would have loved all the those byres to still be there, apparently they were very fine buildings, mostly the buildings for animals were better built than the houses. I am collecting lots of plants that will be sculptural and tough to make a sort of continental looking garden...........spose I can dream I have no idea if it will ever get finished

[bonniethomas06]

Wowzers, that is some project! Well done you, it will be so much nicer to have somewhere flat to sit and useful space too.

And I am v.v.v.v.v jealous of your beautiful view.

[Flo]

How goes the project?

[diggernotdreamer]

How goes the project?

Rain has stopped everything, since last year, if it stopped raining for a few weeks we could get in there again with the digger

[Flo]

You mean it does stop raining in Ireland?

[diggernotdreamer]

You mean it does stop raining in Ireland?

Only in a leap year